The Wormwood Mutiny
.|right]] Pirates take whatever they please, whether it be ships, plunder, or people! A rag-tag party of adventurers wakes to find themselves press-ganged into the crew of the pirate ship Wormwood, the vessel of the nefarious Captain Barnabus Harrigan. They’ll have to learn how to survive as pirates if they’re to have any hope of weathering rough waves, brutal crew members, enemy pirates, ravenous beasts, and worse. But when fortune turns to their favor, it’s up to the new crew to decide whether they’ll remain the pirate’s swabs or seize control and set sail for adventures all their own. Journal of Lo'are Spiritbreaker Day 1, Aboard the Wormwood Well so far Plan B has gone to plan, excuse the pun. I met some rather fetching ladies (or rather as fetching as their drug-rotten teeth and wrinkles would allow) in the Formidable Maid, and as expected, within ten minutes they were attempting to ply me with tainted grog. It took all my willpower not to laugh at the ineptitude of it all: one tried to distract me with her rather withered cleavage, while the other pulled a vial from between hers and poured into my mug. Still, one puts up with what one must, however even with my plan in place, I could not force myself to drink it; so, while the ladies were distracted, I poured most of it away or used it to top up their drinks. Petty I know, but what do you expect when someone is trying to drug you? When I seemed drunk or drug-addled enough, they offered me a good time outside - and who was I to refuse! - so I went with them. I was just trying to build up the courage not to flinch for when the inevitable would happen and some over-sized goon would thump me on the head, when there was a sharp pain at the back of my head and I must have blacked out. Maybe those women were not so stupid after all. Another lesson learned. I awoke aboard the Wormwood with a headache to match the rousing cheer and dulcet tones of one Master Scourge and his lackeys. After the usual perfunctory introduction by one Captain Harrigan, and being told we are going to be worked like horses, fire and brimstone for crimes, yada yada yada, it was time for the skills test. Not knowing how good my new 'companions' were, I thought that a quick run up the rigging was in order. I really wanted to work the rigging; it is quieter up there and a lot easier to watch people. To be honest, I think I could have climbed it blind-folded with one hand tied behind my back and still beaten them up to the nest. It was embarrassing how bad they where, I was really tempted to either throw them overboard myself and save the ship future problems or go down and teach them how to climb. Although, I must admit, the cat was obviously playing the fool. Still, at least I have been assigned work in the rigging. It is interesting to note the dynamics from up here, not to mention that most people (even sailors!) tend not to look up unless they have to. From the looks of it, Harrigan and Longfarthing have some history together. As well, the officers, with the exception of Master Plugg, seem to keep their distance from the crew. Not much else happened today, my 'companions' saw their first keelhauling: one Jake Magpie, for petty thievery. Now although I am all for punishment for theft, etc., I have to ask a question: why deliberately lose a crew member on a ship that is currently low on crew? I really should ask about that. I should leave it for a few days to calm down first, otherwise it might raise some suspicions. If I was a thief, though, where would I hide my loot? I had a quick poke around the hold, just to see if there was anything of interest. Apart from ballistae, ammunition and several barrels of oil, there was very little. Oh, and pigs. There are about a dozen pigs on board; the squealing little rat-bags almost gave me away! Luckily, nobody noticed and I managed to get the single pig that escaped back into its room. Still, at least I know I can create a distraction in a hurry (if I need to) with that oil. I am fast coming to the conclusion that this ship is as rotten to the core as the Slave, but I have scant evidence of it at the moment. As for my companions, I have yet to make up my mind. My first impressions are not very favourable, but I have learned first impressions can often be misleading. So I will wait. Day 2, Aboard the Wormwood Well, what shall I say about today? "Interesting" just about sums it up. The morning started with some of Scourge's lackeys trying to make us late, no doubt at the instigation of Scourge himself. In essence, the usual hazing of crew members and establishing of the pecking order, power, etc. I was feeling a little irritable and did not feel like facing embarrassment and a beating first thing in the morning, so I rather politely (or so I thought) told the lackey facing me to move aside. She was so stunned, she stood there gaping like a fish! Something tells me she did not expect a new crew member to stand up to her. I laced my next request, which was not as polite, with a little of Besmara’s song and suggested she go play with her friends. To be honest it was gratifying to see her run and cower behind them, it made the morning seem a little better. Something tells me though, that she is going to have a hard time of it. Tough. If she wants to play, she is going to have to be willing to pay the price. My companions handled themselves adequately, if (in some cases) a little sloppily. I suppose I should mention those crew that where press ganged alongside me, AKA my 'companions', as they are probably going to be the ones that I can bond with the most easily. Mostly since we have a common experience and all that, not to mention I can grant them a modicum of trust as they don’t have history with the current crew. First there is the cat, Arlington Roseroar. He seems okay, if a bit on the lazy side. He takes some pains to hide his natural talents, such as his great agility, although I suspect at the moment he is having problems adjusting to the swaying of the boat. While trying to evade the lackey who was trying to delay, him he basically kept throwing himself into the path of the lackeys’ fists. Next, there is Samudra. She is fairly agile and has an interesting combat style I have not seen before: she seems to use her fists. Something to remember is not to get slapped by her; I can only imagine how painful that would be! Samudra is definitely a contradiction in terms though: she is haughty (and that is getting her into trouble) but she also seems to be willing to help others. After she has proven she is their superior, of course, almost as if she is justifying her position. I will keep an eye on her and try to find her story. Last but not least is Que Xuan, perhaps the most enigmatic of the three. I have my suspicions about her; during this fight, a rather large rat ran out of the shadows (that only she saw) and engaged one of the lackeys in combat and then disappeared again once the lackeys had started to run away. Another one to keep my eye on, I think. Unfortunately, I was not in a good enough position to see what she was doing during the fight. I spent most of the day reefing the main sails, and talking (or rather listening) to perhaps the most irritating gnome in a stupid purple hat that I have ever met. Not that I have met many gnomes in purple hats. He insisted on talking about himself. Every time I came near him, he would launch into another long-winded exposition about some or the other minor but miraculous feat that he had achieved. About the only useful thing I managed to determine is that he is part of the Plugg’s brigade. During the evening, after watching Samudra getting given lashes for making a hash-up of swabbing the deck, we got to endure food prepared by Arlington. I cannot begin to tell you how irate the crew was! After a hard day of work, crackers with pate (AKA too-spicy rat-mush on hardtack) is not supper! Might explain why so many of the crew were grumpy that evening. Having nothing better to do and being a little low on cash, I spent a rather pleasant evening gambling with Tam "Narwhal" Tate and Rosie Cusswell. Tam was rather annoyed at losing. Well, he cannot complain. They were his cards and marked ones, to boot! Rosie seems nice enough; I must arrange to get to know her better. Tam seems also be one of the Plugg brigade, given that his first act after losing was to complain to Scourge's lackeys. Sandara Quinn has started to approach us as a group. Something tells me that we are acting as a disrupting influence. Why and what I am not sure about at the moment, but I suspect Quinn is one of the pivots. Although she seems nice enough, I have kept my distance; I suspect she has a longer term plan afoot. On the plus side, I found my symbol tucked into my hammock, a gift from Quinn apparently. I have to wonder if she suspects that I too walk with Besmara, albeit on a different path. I definitely need to be a little careful with her. Day 3, Aboard the Wormwood Not much to report today, as I spent the day reefing the sails again. I spent a very good evening talking to Tilly Brackett: not the brightest knife in the drawer, but definitely very relaxed; that, and she drinks too much rum. I got the feeling she felt more relaxed as the evening went by as I did not hit on her, like I suspect the others do. If nothing else, at least I know someone who will drink my ration without hesitation: I can’t stand the stuff, it rots your brains. A little now and then is okay, but with the amount that is being given out, I can only see it being used as a tool to control the crew. My companions and I are getting closer, although we are obviously still trying to figure out where we stand in the group. I think part of the issue is that normally a group in trouble would instinctively revolve around the strongest personality. We, as a group, have too many of our own secrets to allow that to happen. However, we are working as a group! I noticed that we are instinctually dividing up the crew and working to get them onto our side. Whatever Quinn’s plan is, I suspect it is working. Que Xuan seems to be getting fairly close to Quinn, who warned her (and hence us) that a number of the doors on the ship are trapped. Not that it makes a difference to me. That discussion was most enlightening though, as I noticed Arlington’s tail started to twitch at the mention of traps, especially as we glossed over what might be hidden. It is only slight, but as he gets excited, there is a little twitch now and then. I suspect that Arlington is one of light-fingered types and given his natural agility (climbing the rigging notwithstanding) I would not be surprised if he had a penchant for burglary. However, the really interesting part concerned Samudra. She admitted that she could not find her crab. Jokes about crabs and cooking notwithstanding, I gathered that the crab was a companion or familiar to her, or at least she was bound to it. General superstition aside, I suspect she follows a path of nature, either as a druid or as a witch. I am not sure how I feel about that. Apart from being as abrasive as sharkskin and sometimes as stupid as a drunken orc, I have not detected anything negative about her. Definitely one to keep an eye on. Nothing really new about Que Xuan; she's still as enigmatic as ever. Day 4, Aboard the Wormwood Whee! I got to see the bilges today and kill some of the vermin that infest the Wormwood. Sadly, not the really big vermin like Plugg and Scourge, just some over-sized rats. I managed to get bitten, and now I have something extra to worry about. Hopefully Besmara will keep me safe from the bite's infection. I don’t really want to end up like Slippery Syl, tossing, turning and moaning in her hammock. I spent the rest of the day reefing the high sails, the view was great, but the ropes were sub-standard and I had to call on Besmara to guide my hands and feet. I tried to persuade Cutthroat Grok the quartermaster to part with some of my equipment first thing in the morning, just after Scourge sent the us to deal with the rats (I wonder if he has something against us), but to no avail. Arlington however managed to find me a really nice dagger that had been lurking in the kitchen. We companions are definitely starting to watch out for each other. Anyway, after a quick skirmish with the rats, we managed to dispatch six of them; after which we had enough time to poke around. Found some nice bits and bobs, including some gold. It was quite refreshing to have a sensible discussion about who would get the best use out of the equipment we found. The only item that was not of direct use to us was a very nice axe, which we decided we would flog to Grok in return for some of our equipment. Some very interesting things to come out of the skirmish though. The first was that Que Xuan is definitely a spellcaster and, from the looks of it, can summon animals. This time she summoned a snake. Samudra also showed off her magical abilities, casting light on items so we could see. So from the looks of it, this little group has a pair of casters, a thief and, of course, my good self. I would feel happier if there was a meat-shield, but I can work with these. If nothing else, it should mean that we won’t just go running into situations we cannot handle. That is, if certain members can learn to control themselves! I had to stabilize Samudra with Besmara’s grace after she managed to really screw up during her duties and was almost flogged to death. Thankfully nobody noticed when I did that, and just shrugged it off as a weird ability that she had. Still I must be careful and I hope that Quinn did not notice the trace of Besmara’s grace I used when she healed her. I spent a pleasant evening with Grok, playing Sailor's Gin for woodchips. I mostly just let her talk. Arlington popped in during the evening and asked about Fishguts; that is when I think she finally broke and told us that the ship was rotten. Getting that off her chest really helped her, I think, and she offered to return all our equipment. Not to seem pushy, I have decided to wait until tomorrow to reclaim my stuff. No point in souring a burgeoning friendship with greed or making her feel like she is being used. Day 5, Aboard the Wormwood Oh how I loathe working on the lines! It means I get stuck on deck, but at least I managed to wheedle it so that I could work with Ratline Rattsberger today. He seems okay, and with a little more work, I suspect that he will come over to our side. The crew is definitely polarized, but there are plenty of crew who can be persuaded to our side, I think. I must speak to Rosie tomorrow and see if I can get her see us in a better light. Supper was (for once!) something worth writing about because it was very good. That cat can really cook when he puts his mind to it. I just wish he would do it more often. Plugg was obviously bored, as during the evening he brought out his ‘pet’, a huge beast of a man he called 'Owlbear'. He challenged any one of us to a fight with 100 gold piece purse; all we could put up was the axe which we had not yet sold. Samudra decided that she would try, the rest of us being rather reticent to go hand-to-hand with the lumbering brute. However, we did cause some deliberate confusion so she could secretly cast some spells of protection on herself, not that they helped. The battle did not go well and she was knocked out within about 30 heartbeats. One the plus side, we noticed that Owlbear was blind on the one side, so we knew how to defeat him in the future. Almost to order, Plugg expressed his disappointment and re-challenged us. We managed to scrape together a pot of about 60 gold and Arlington went toe-to-toe with Owlbear. I asked Besmara to grant the cat her grace during the battle, which (while I am sure that nobody else saw) I am hoping he was not aware of. That was a battle to behold! I knew the cat was agile, but that was close to breath-taking. Needless to say, Owlbear lost, but Arlington did not apply the coup-de-grace; an action which I think was not lost on Owlbear. The brutish simpleton was cast aside by the Plugg brigade. I don’t think we as a group even thought about it, but immediately went to his aid. Even Quinn stepped forward, probably more to stop us killing him with our ministrations. I think that the other side might have made their first major mistake other than annoying us and Quinn. Actually Quinn is another issue I need to tackle soon. I need to figure out her plans, I have deliberated speaking to her bluntly, however that will require a gesture of good faith somewhere. I suspect that would be revealing the path that I have taken in order to honour Besmara and I don’t know if I am ready for that. My suspicion at the moment is that she is planning on polarizing the crew until she has enough power to take over the ship or she is scared of something and wants a strong cadre around her. In the second case I don’t have a problem; in the first case, it is survival of the fittest. Looking for justification to support Quinn, I can claim that Plugg and company are already causing a divide in the crew which is against Besmara’s wishes. Indeed, he and Scourge both are not keeping to the Code, leave grudges on land. Harrigan is implicated by proxy, as he is protecting Plugg and not really acting the part of a captain. Also, I need to consider something else: why would Besmara arrange for Quinn and I to be on the same ship? Am I there to stop her or to support her? Is it something in far future or more immediate? Personally, I say support her; at least until something else rears its head. I spent the rest of the evening with Grok, reclaiming my gear. Now although I don’t have any real attachment to it, for the first time I feel ready to face things. Just so long as I don’t get sick with this infection. I have heard tales it can takes days to show itself. The bite seems healed, but the area is red and tender at the moment. Day 6, Aboard the Wormwood Oh well, another day aboard this salubrious ship... what a joy! I awoke to find Quinn hovering over my hammock, staring at me (at least I think she was). Gave me quite a start, I can tell you. Luckily, all she wanted was to give Que Xuan and myself a brief run-down on the crew from her perspective. In addition, she supplied useful some information she had gathered on the crew in addition to a basic floor plan of the ship. All of that as act of good faith. While I am not ungrateful, this tells me two... no, make that three... possibly four things: # It is entirely probable that she has noticed us working to get the crew onto our side, and if she has (mind you, I suspect that is part of her plan), then so has the Plugg Brigade; given the natural tendency to try and outdo the pirate-next-door (read, escalation), I am guessing the Plugg Brigade is probably also trying to recruit to their side. We need keep up the pressure and turn as many of the crew to our side as is possible. # Quinn most definitely has a plan somewhere. It is now getting more imperative that we figure it. Preferably sooner rather than later. She was mentioning she thought that Samudra might be a future pirate queen... definitely something to think about, but I am just hoping that was a throw away comment. There again, maybe that is not such a bad thing. Hmmm... more things to think about. # Quinn wants to work from the background. In essence, it seems almost definite that she has decided that we should act the part of the spearhead... although, of what I would really like to know... # She has possibly taken an interest in me, which (while flattering) is not exactly on my agenda at the moment. I was told off this morning, by Que Xuan while we were getting ready for our duties, apparently I have been pronouncing her name incorrectly. "It is not Que Xuan, it is Que Xuan!" Can you tell the difference? Neither can I, but for the sake of harmony I will try to twist my tongue around those symbols. Oh, if that was the worst of my issues! Arr! Bugger it, I just remembered I blathered on yesterday about an act of faith, etc concerning Quinn. Okay, the question now arises what to do. I personally would not be surprised if Besmara Herself is busy whispering in her ear. I suppose I had a better have a chat with Her soon. As soon as I stop feeling like ambergris I might do that, definitely want to keep my wits about me. I suspect I have a touch of filth fever; I am hoping the hot-grog-and-spice tonic (made with Quinn's help) I had earlier will help me sweat it out. Yes, you gathered it... I am currently feeling rather sorry for myself, but more on that later. I struck lucky today, I was assigned to the crow's-nest, admittedly alongside Barefoot, but she is a nice enough lass. She most definitely seems up for a laugh which is good, although some of jokes would have made a sailor blush (yes, I totally missed the irony in that statement). Still, it was fun even with Plugg questioning my every update; even his attempt at a "dry picnic" did not really faze me. As our conversation wandered all over the place, she mentioned something that rang a bell: old 'lop-it-off' from the Spiritbreaker used to swear that a lot of diseases can be sweated out with some hot grog and a pinch or two of the right herbs or spices; it was then that I decided to have a chat with Quinn about herbs etc., I thought that she might be able to help me. During my time in the nest I have started the work on trying to convert Conchobar Shortstone over to our side, pointing out a sail that was about to tear due to a poor knot. This worked for the crew of the Slave, now to see if works on the Wormwood. Then I made a mistake. I had noticed a sail on the horizon and notified Plugg. The Captain became interested right up until I mentioned the colours... then he ordered me whipped. I was not too perturbed about that, it was going to be a painful irritation more than anything and a dent in my pride; however, I decided to make the best of it and try to use the opportunity to start working at undermining some of the authority that Plugg and Scourge have. The best way I could think of was to basically make light of issue, people only have power if you give it to them. I figured if I could at the same time plant some seeds of doubt, the easiest I could think of was to get Plugg to use Besmara's name in vain. This is a longer term plan, the next time something goes badly wrong, we can casually mention this episode in passing, I doubt there is much more that can drive a wedge between individuals than being marked as having peeved off a deity. Something is bothering me, the Captain was awfully quick off the mark accusing me about the details of the colours. I wonder if knows something I don't. More mysteries to deal with, hey ho. I will admit despite his lack of intelligence, Plugg is way too handy with his whip, it took pretty much everything I could muster not to yell out; I tell you, I had spots in front of my eyes. My back is going to hurt for a week, but still I had a moment of fun: I managed to annoy Plugg and get him to use Her name almost in vain. I think I put on a good show... at least I hope so. Unfortunately, I was most definitely outclassed by Samudra: she took six lashes and shed not a drop of blood. Oh well, yet something more I will have to investigate. However, I was more impressed by Tilly: I think she took some strength from the display of Samudra and I, while she did not pull it off entirely, she most definitely managed to hold on longer than I expected. Ah! Yes how could I forget, I spoke to Samudra his evening, trying to get her to sell herself (metaphorically of course). Anything else I say will come out wrong, it came out wrong in the discussion, definitely I heard one too many of Barefoot's early morning blue jokes this morning, that or the hot grog is getting to me. Anyway, it seems that Shortstone is enamoured of her, and it might be possible for her to sidle-up to the little purple hatted rat-bag... she might be able to get him onto our side, or maybe at the least neutral. You can only imagine the looks I got, I swear her glare could melt lard at 20 paces in the middle of winter. I also had another idea, even in my somewhat fuddled state, if I let it drop that I don't like working the crow's-nest perhaps I will get assigned there more often. So this evening I have 'let slip' within earshot of Tam that working the nest makes me slightly seasick and being stiff and not moving around is uncomfortable, etc. Let's see what happens. Maybe I'll be lucky, maybe not... but it was worth a try. After my evening entertainment with Plugg, Samudra and Tam, I wondered off to find Quinn. Most of the crew probably thought that I was off for a touch of healing; no such luck, I was more interested in getting something to help me shake the fugue I was feeling. I had a chat with her mostly about the best way to sweat out illness and she gave me a few hints, along with a suggestion for the best way to get rid of it. In essence it involved a trip to the galley, a couple of Arlington's favourite spices in some hot grog. While getting my hot grog this evening from the galley, I had a quick poke around, but to be honest, I was not really in the mood and could not concentrate, so did a half-arsed job if I am honest. The concoction (if you want to call it that) was horrible, just drinking the stuff pretty much made me determined not to get ill in the future, and as a reminder to myself NEVER get those chilli-seeds stuck in the back of your nose again! You know, I think I am going to call it a day, really not feeling terribly great. I am getting the sweats and feeling clumsy, tired and my back aches. Not really up to much. I hope I get a quiet job tomorrow, the crow's-nest would be nice. Category:Pathfinder Category:Adventures